jdub27

It may have been coach-speak, but Hak was very adamant that UND has one of the toughest, if not the toughest first round match-ups (for the home team), particularly with how Tech has been playing the 2nd half. He spoke very highly of them, more so than I've heard him speak of opponents in the past. Again, he could just be setting the tone for the playoffs, but I don't think they will be the push-over we are used to seeing.

Well good thing there isn't much of that for you to do around here...

Wilmer needs to play like he did last night and limit fouls. Brekke needs to have a much better game. Need to get the dribble drive and kick out going like the 2nd half last night and hit the shots. UND has the talent to pull it off, but are going to have to play a very good game to do it.

Actually Butler>Valpo but in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't matter. Point being, their starters will now have at least some game action under their belt. Originally, I thought UND would have a little bit of advantage having played a game, especially with a young QB. Looks like SDSU will have the same opportunity.

Looks like SDSU picked up a game against Butler on 8/31, meaning their game against UND will not be their first one of the season any more.

Mitch Wilmer was the MVP of that game and not sure it was close. Hitting the open corner 3's when SUU switched to the zone was the big difference. Once those started falling it was over.

If the team that is playing the 2nd half tonight shows up tomorrow against Weber, it is going to be entertaining! Not so much if the 1st half team shows up. SUU currently shooting .245% from the field...

Wilmer made a big difference tonight.

Dribble drive against the zone and kick it out to the corner. Schuler is killing them and they have to respect Huff's driving.

I can see his point on how its confusing. You have a rookie goaltender first team All-WCHA, a rookie goaltender second team All-WCHA but than a completely different rookie makes your All-Rookie team over both of them. If he was better than them to make the All-Rookie team, shouldn't he have been ahead of them on the All-WCHA teams? Unless you are using the criteria that being on one of the All-WCHA teams excludes or supercedes being on the All-Rookie team then I understand, otherwise it does seem a little contradictory.

Another record year: $2,430,000 from 2,286 members. An increase of $200,000 over last year.

UND is showing up as a -2 to -2.5 point favorite for tonight's game. I think they get it done tonight and who knows after that.

It would be nice to continue that Detroit Lakes pipeline.

I agree and I'm not even sure this year is a bust either, at least in the grand scheme of things. Traylor was a disappointment only because we got to see half a year out of him. He was averaging 7 and 5 in just under 16 minutes of play when he was on the court. Salmonson shouldn't really count against this year since he didn't play and should have two left years left. Looking strictly at contributions by juco's this year, it wasn't great. But if Salmonson has two productive years and Traylor can get on the floor and contribute for a whole year next year, could end up being OK.

One would hope with the amount of playing time that will be available, he should.

With the roster currently showing 8 juniors, that is going to free up a lot of scholarhip money after next year (though one or two of them could be around for an extra year, Salmonson comes to mind). Think Jones brings in a couple JuCo's to try to balance out the classes and some much needed experience?

Huff has shown flashes of some great passing skills in the past. Wolters has an advantage of some great outside shooters along with some guys with great hands that catch the ball and put it up immediately, not fumble around or take a dribble or two. It helps that a couple of their shooters are bigger guys that can draw the defensive post players out of the lane (very similar to what Mitchell was able to do last year). Along with that, they've had a very small and consistent rotation this year, giving the players a much better feel for each other on the floor. Schuler and Anderson have been UND's only fairly consistent outside shooters and it seems our post players hesitate when they get a quick pass. UND's team needs to overcome the injuries, put it all together and play up to the potential they've shown. Not expecting an upset over Montana or Weber this week, but they have the ability to do so. It would be nice for this team to show what it is capable of a year early, they have the minutes under their belt to do it.

Agree with the long shot odds, but this may be the healthiest the team has been all year assuming Anderson is able to go. Not sure on Brekke's conditioning but he's played 14, 16 and 20 minutes the last 3 games and Schuler looked pretty good Saturday despite his layoff.

I thought Huff was forcing a little too but it seemed that part of the reason was Anderson being out and the offense not having the flow it should.

That is huge. They adjusted and played pretty good without him on Saturday, but you could notice a drop-off in how the offense was being run.

Do I remember correctly that all UND players were eligible for Newcomer of the Year?

Kristo from Knight, Forbort

One of the worst officiated games I've seen in a while and that was both ways, not just against UND. I'm guessing that contributed to the sloppiness of the game, they players had no clue what they were and weren't going to get away with. I'm guessing/hoping there was not much benefit to Anderson coming back and playing, the 3 seed was locked up. He looked to be moving around fine at the game. Decent crowd, not much for students, but with spring break, not a big surprise.

I was actually thinking this morning the Summit has to be disappointed about this. I mean, DU fit perfectly into their new marketing plan without having to change their name.

True, but Denver is a private school, spends a lot of money on and has had relative success with basketball and doesn't have football to worry about. And while it isn't the closest option, getting to Denver by plane is pretty easy. They aren't perfect but I think them being a private and non-football school is a huge deal for the balance of the MVC and them being picked wouldn't surprise me.